Cara Winterbottom

[This article is part of a series about how to craft an intentional life using ideas and tools from Constantin Stanislavski’s acting system for working on our inner motive forces. Previous article: Intellect ] The previous article was about intellect as one of Stanislavski’s inner motive forces that drive us to action. Here, I describe observation, one of the tools of intellect. It may seem strange to claim observation as one of Stanislavski’s tools and devote an article to it, as it’s a broad, well-understood concept; Stanislavski certainly can’t be credited for being the first to note its value. We naturally observe the world around us, and observation is a core method in psychology, the sciences, the arts, and in meditation practices like mindfulness. Stanislavski found observation to be of primary importance in understanding ourselves and the world around us. He described its use extensively, and I have already shared some of his teachings in this series of articles. The practice o...

[This article is part of a series about how to craft an intentional life using ideas and tools from Constantin Stanislavski’s acting system for working on our inner motive forces. Introduction: The Triumvirate of Consciousness ] Intellect is one of the three inner motive forces that drive us to action, the other two being emotion and will. If we want to act positively, effectively and intentionally, then we need to work on strengthening our understanding of and influence over each of the three motive forces. Here, I consider intellect. Our intellect is the part of us that thinks, learns, understands, dreams, imagines, plans and forms beliefs. It is both the seat of our rationality and the source of our wildest fantasies. This ability to operate with logic and coherence, and imagine wonderful prospects makes the intellect a powerful engine. However, it is also the part of us that becomes deluded, ruminates, paralyses us with indecision, and takes shortcuts in thinking which result in bi...